Neanderthal Man (human)
Neanderthal Man (Homo sapiens neanderthalensis) is a human being who lived between the years 300,000 BC and 35,000 BC. His lifestyle is featured in the episode Neanderthal Man. The First Dwellings To protect himself from danger, man first sought refuge in natural shelters before learning to build them himself. Contrary to popular belief, and although there are many cave paintings, not all Neanderthals live in caves. Some people prefer to remain at the entrance of these cavities whenever they are unoccupied. To protect themselves from severe weather and heat, they prefer the shelters under open rock on the outside. They prefer to be exposed to the sun, sheltered from the wind, and out of reach of predators. Finally, the proximity of a water source is also well sought after. Before building their own dwellings, it is in nature that they find their refuge. They make houses by building awnings covered with animal skins or foliage for better shelter. For the same purpose, they have stones to build small walls. But these encampments are only provisional, since Neanderthals and Cro-Magnons are nomadic tribes. Today, there are many remnants of these shelters in France, some of which can be visited. Gone Fishing A pparently, Mr. Neanderthal became interested in fishing after hunting. To catch his first fish, he used his own hands or the same tools to kill land animals. Then, as his experience as an apprentice fisherman grew, he began to develop specific tools and techniques. This is how the first harpoons and hooks, straight or bent, appeared, embedded in bones or shells. Thus, Mr. Neanderthal seeks to catch more and more fish simultaneously. He has thus made nets out of plant fibers. He’s also designed wooden traps to block streams and enclose entire schools of fish. He then retrieves them by hand or with the use of a fishgig, a pronged harpoon resembling a trident. Once brought back to the camp, the fish are smoked to be kept longer and to provide food. Fish has quickly become one of Mr. Neanderthal’s favorite foods. As evidence of its popularity, many fish bones have been discovered near prehistoric homes, and representations of salmon and trout have been found on cave walls. The Bifacial: Ancestor of Tools Thanks to his status as a biped, Neanderthal man can manipulate objects with his hands. His intelligence has enabled him to make his first tools. Initially, Mr. Neanderthal used raw materials such as pebbles. These were used to skin animals after killing them. Then, to meet other needs, he had the idea to change the form of what nature offered him, and he invented the bifacial tool. As its name suggests, this tool is cut on two sides, often in a symmetrical way. Bifacial tools come in the form of almonds, triangles, circles, or ovals, and have a sharp point. They are most often made from flint or other rocks such as basalt or sandstone. Measuring from two inches to over a foot (five to thirty centimeters), the largest can weigh several pounds. To give them their final appearance, Mr. Neanderthal detaches shards from the raw material by giving blows on both sides with a striker of stone or wood, depending on the desired effect. Thus, he gets a very sharp and multifunctional tool. Bifaces are used to cut wood or meat as well as to scrape the skins, the tip can serve to pierce and the base as its body. But they are soon to disappear in favor of more sophisticated tools. Fire: The Indispensable Flame For Neanderthal Man, fire is valuable for many reasons: it scares away beasts, protects him from the cold, brings light into the room, and cooks meat so it keeps longer than raw meat. The real challenge is to keep it going for as long as possible! For this purpose, he’s made fireplaces, small stone-lined pits, which shelter the flames from the wind. Now, he’s managed to make fire by himself. Two techniques enable him to achieve his ends. The first, called “friction,” consists of rubbing two pieces of wood in such a way that the dried grass and twigs below are set aflame. The second is called “percussion.” Contrary to popular belief, it’s not enough to hit two flint rocks together. This operation produces only sparks which, without the contact of vegetation, cannot transform into flames. Thanks to fire, Neanderthal Man has become less vulnerable and is able to conquer new territories, fearing neither cold nor predators. Language: Look Who's Talking! Evolutionists have long depicted Neanderthals as grunting, subhuman brutes. But now, we know that their language is ultimately much more elaborate than what was once believed. At the end of 2013, an international team of scientists came to the conclusion that Mr. Neanderthal not only knows how to speak but already possesses a developed language. Their discovery is due to a simple, small fossilized bone found in an Israeli cave in 1989. This bone, shaped like a horseshoe, is the hyoid bone, also known as the lingual bone. Located under our tongue and above our larynx, it allows us to swallow but also to articulate. It is also present in monkeys, but not in the same place or shape, which explains why they can’t talk. By analyzing the fossil (approximately 60,000 years old) from every angle, scientists found this hyoid bone to be very much the same as ours. And even if some people still don’t think that Neanderthals can talk as we do today, there is good reason to believe that they had their own language. This language may even have been the ancestor of all those spoken today. And even if we would love to know what Neanderthals recount in the evening by the fireside, there is unfortunately very little chance that one day this mystery will be solved! Hunting Traps Attacking wild animals like bison with rudimentary weapons is not without danger. Thus, Neanderthal Man quickly seeks other strategies to kill them without taking unnecessary risks. He first started by using what nature had to offer. By chasing mammoths through marshes in which they are bogged down, he can immobilize the beasts. He also drives some animals to cliffs, from which the panicked beasts jump. All that is left for the hunters is to recover the meat and skins from the resulting carcasses below. Then, some clever man got the idea of creating his own traps. Using large bones or tusks, the hunters dig pits and cover them with branches. At the bottom of these pits, they sometimes plant stakes so the animals injure themselves at the time of their fall. The hunters then finish them off by spearing them or throwing stones at them. Some more elaborate traps even include bait. Whenever an animal comes to eat the bait, a mechanism is triggered, imprisoning it. You could say that Neanderthal Man invented the ancestor of the mousetrap! The First Clothes Neanderthals cover themselves by taking off the skins and furs of animals. They wore them around their shoulders like cloaks, or wrapped them around their bodies. They have a preference for the skins of big animals like mammoths or bison because they cover their entire bodies. Their size also makes them comfortable covers. But several operations are needed before they are ready for use. They are first spread and then, using a scraper, the remains of flesh and fat are removed before the tanning process is carried out so that they remain flexible. The invention of the needle has verily revolutionized prehistoric clothing. Horsehair, tendons, and even nerves serve as thread. By assembling various skins, you can obtain snug clothes that keep you warmer. Hoods are also made to protect the head. Neanderthal Funerals Neanderthal man is among the first to take care of his dead by burying them in the ground. By the end of 2013, science came to the end of a hundred-years’ question. Indeed, it was after thirteen years of work on a site discovered in 1908 at Chapelle-aux-Saints, France, that researchers succeeded in proving that Mr. Neanderthal buries his dead well. After all, Mr. Neanderthal does not necessarily see death as the end of life but rather as a journey to the afterlife. Animal bones, tools, jewelry, or flowers, which could have been deposited as offerings, have also been found next to human skeletons. The body is often placed on its side in a fetal position. Traces of red dirt also suggest that some of the dead are painted before being buried. A lone grave is usually excavated, but collective burials are also found. In such burials, the corpses are not necessarily deceased at the same time, but sometimes at several intervals. Few animals have the same consideration for their dead as man, Neanderthal and otherwise. Most of them leave their dead behind without offering them real burials… and some of them even eat them! The End of a 250,000-Year Reign According to evolution, Neanderthal Man appeared about 300,000 years ago. After living alone for hundreds of thousands of years, he suddenly had to cohabit with a newcomer, or so the story goes… Monsieur de Cro-Magnon made his appearance around 40,000 BC, and only 5,000 years later, Mr. Neanderthal mysteriously disappeared. Evolutionists have advanced many assumptions as to the cause of their extinction. Some think that the Neanderthals had all been butchered by the Cro-Magnons. But others believe that the arrival of Monsieur de Cro-Magnon must have seriously disturbed Mr. Neanderthal for other reasons. With the arrival of these new roommates, say these theorists, they had to find new grounds for hunting, an activity for which they were allegedly less gifted than their successors. Moreover, they are thought to have had a low birth rate by themselves, but the birth rate must have further decreased. These prehistorians therefore attribute the end of Mr. Neanderthal to stress engendered by the arrival of Monsieur de Cro-Magnon. But has his race really disappeared for that reason, or even at all? Recent research has discovered through DNA analysis that current European and Asian populations have genes in common with him! What this means is that Mr. Neanderthal had children with Mademoiselle de Cro-Magnon and thus transmitted some of his genetic heritage to us. Appearances * Once Upon a Time... Man ** Neanderthal Man * Once Upon a Time... Life ** The Brain Category:Humans Category:Characters Category:Paleolithic